Improvement in firemen s suits



Patented Feb.29,1876.

N. PETERS PHOTO-UTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

ormer.

JOHN w. osrsnae, or strooKHQn .sWEDE-N,

IMPRQMEMENTIN neemsns vsuits.

Spec fica ion formi g part of Lett rs P te t N o- '74e2 ii. d t F b ua y -2 ..--1. v appl ca i i ed December 13,1875.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1,6011: WILHELM Qs'r- BERG Of' StoekholmfSweden, have-invented a. new andI-mproved FiremaiflsSuit, of-whieh thezfollowing isxaspecification .11 1 ,the accompanying drawing, :Eigure 1- represents a perspective view'of myimproved ,firemans suit,.as:-appliedmto t-hebody ,Fig. 2,

aside View of the "same, part-[yin section, showing method of attaching itto'the body,

.andaFigs. 3 and etrepresent a: front viewand a-verticaLtransverse sectionv on line a m, :Fig.

' against the influence offire, smoke, and water,

so I that the fireman i or other person may not only. approach the fire nearer than has been heretofore the case, but may also pass through or into the same without being exposed to injuryby the fire or smoke.

- The fire-proof suit facilitates not only the extinguishing of fires, but enables'alsothe wearer to enter the fire an d'save persons from being burned.

The invention consists of an air and water proofsuit that covers the entire body, and is continually flooded with water,which ismtroduced by pipe-connection with the hood,

covering the headgear orhelmet of the dress. The helmet is tightly applied to the body-covering dress, and the. dress strapped to the body, air being supplied to the inside to keep out the smoke by an air supply pipe and pump. I Thehelmet is provided with a hollow valve mask, through whichthe water is continually flowing, passing by a connecting-tube to the hood that is fitted on thefaee-mask and extended over the dress to shed thewater over the same.

-In the drawing, A represents the body-covering dress, thatis madeiu one connected piece, provided with sleeves and pants. Bis the head gear or helmet, and O the detachable hood for shedding the water over the dress.

The body-coverin g dress A ismade of an interior water and air, tight lining, and of an exterior covering of mole-skin,velvet, or other water-proof material. The soles are made of cork, felting, wire-cloth, or other material :that serves. to protect the feet against theinflnence of-the heat, The. dress A is strapped togthe body above: the-hips by a strong belt, a, ,whichcarries at the backa cylindricaltube, b.

Tubebpasses .througha hole of the dress to the outside, and serves'to attach the air=supply'tu'be d. 'Tubeb is provided at theinside of the dress with anumber of holes, through whichithe air, supplied. by the tube d, issues, so asto fill gradually .the interior of the dress,

or similar material, the space between the inner and outer covering and: the springs being stuffed with caoutchouc or any other waterproof material.

The frame of the helmet is provided at the front. part witha-valve-mask,.D, that is made hollow, of an interior disk, f, and outer revolving. disk, f, the latter being'gnided' along an encircling flange of the inner disk f. The disks have a number of perforations that register with each other, and are covered some with glass or perforated pumice-stone, some with fire-proof stoppers, the remaining .ones being left open to enable the-fireman to close the holes of the inner disk in any suitable manner, as required. The holesof the interior disk serve for the purposes of looking out, they being closed by theouter disk whenever ,itis required ,to .protect the eyes against a too great degree of heat.

The space at the inside of the mask is continually-supplied with Water from a pipe, that branches 011' from the main hose g, whose nozzle may be attached to a suitable fastening device at the left arm to be carried along, leaving the hands'free untilrequiredforthrowiug water on the fire. Another hole at the top of the mask serves to attach, by bayonet or other attachment, a short tube,'h, which connects, when the hood is taken off, by a flexible pipe, with a large felt cloakor cylindrical casin g of tire-proof material, that may be wrapped around a person for carrying the same out of the fire, furnishing a sufficient supply of air for breathing. This part of the device protects the personfrom injury through its cloak or cylindrical body, that may be provided with shoulder-straps if desired. This attachment forms, in, connection with the dress, a reliable lifesaving device in dangerous emergencies. The outer disk is adjusted by means of a handle, to which also a signalhorn, speaking tube, or lantern may be applied, as shown in Fig. 1.

A tube, f?, at the upper partot' the mask D, connects-with a short pipe, i, of hood 0, which is of .double or three-ply sail-cloth, or other strong material, stepped together, and constructed to fit tightly around the mask iandlcover the helmet, shoulders, and arms. -llhe water passes through the cavity of the fmask,-and is shed through pipe t over the helmet and the remaining part of the dress, dripping-continually over the same, and keeping it thus in perfectly wet condition, capable. of resisting-the action of the fire. In thelowe'r part of the helmet is a spring- =ring, below which the springs c extend in .downward direction to form with the neck- .ring rests or supports for the upper part of dress A, which is applied by means of gussets of air-tight material with books and eyes and -fastening-strings or lacings tightly to the helmet.

The perfectly reliable and tight joint of helmet and dress forms one of main points for the successful working of the suit.

The air and water are supplied to the dress ,and hood by means of a hose, E, with double pipes, an inner air-pipe, d, and outer surrounding water-pipe. This has the advantage that the air'is supplied to the body at nearly the same temperature as the water, so that the body is not disagreeabl y affected by the cold water running continually over the dress. The hose divides near the dress, and also at the other end, where the water-pipe forms connection with the hose of the engine, and .the air-pipe with 'an air-pump that is worked continually to supply the air to the interior of the dress, at a pressure sufficient to prevent the smoke from entering through the eye-holes of the mask. -'The water pipebranches near the dress'again into two pipes, of which one supplies the mask and hood with water, while the other by its nozzle is directed against the fire, as described. A second larger hose and nozzle may be brought to bear with the right .hand on the fire when a position near enough to it has been secured for applying it with the desired effect.

convenient manner of saving persons out of burning buildings, a protecting fire-proofdress of great value to firemen and others employed in extinguishing fires.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters .Patent 1. A firemans suit composed of an air and water proof body-covering dress and tightlyjointed head-gear and helmet, and a watershedding hood fitted and connected thereto, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

2. The body-coverin g dress provided with an V interior belt, to be strapped to the body, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the water-proof dress and helmet, of an air-supply pipe, attached to the belt of the dress to fill up the space between body and dress and keep out smoke, substantially as described. 4. The combination of helmet having neckring and downward-extending supportingsprings, with the gussets and fastening devices at the upper part of the dress tov secure tight joint of dress and-helmet, as set forth.

5. The helmet provided with a hollow valvemask made of a fixed and movable disk with holes arranged substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the hollow valvemask with a water-supply pipe and with the hood, havingpipe connecting with mask for the purpose of keeping mask cool and providing a continual shedding of water over suit,

substantially as described.

7. The helmet, provided with top aperture and tube for connecting by a flexible pipe with a protecting-cloak or cylindrical casing, serving as a life-saving device, substantially as specified.

J. W. OSTBERG.

Witnesses G. L. Gi'INTHER, L. A. GRoTH. 

